My latest post on violence against homeless people took off from a remark by Eric Sheptock, a leading “homeless homeless advocate” in our adoptive hometown. Commenting on a recent attack, he’d tweeted, “Our society has learned to hate the homeless.” I begged to differ.

I invited Eric to respond. Here, lightly edited, is what he has to say.

Friend and fellow homeless advocate Kathryn Baer calls my analysis into question. She quotes Neil Donovan, the Executive Director of the National Coalition for the Homeless, whose Speakers’ Bureau I’m part of: “Only a disturbed mind … [acts out] such an intense passion of dislike.”

Their shared analysis flies in the face of my broad indictment of society by narrowing it down to a small group of delinquent youths and suggesting that they might not be fully responsible for their bad choices, due to mental deficiencies.

Their points are well-taken. However, my own unprofessional psychoanalysis of society has shown me that society’s core values are most easily detected by watching the behaviors of its least intelligent, most disturbed and youngest citizens.

Consider the six-year-old boy who killed a female classmate or the fact that some of the least intelligent members of society understand the importance of money and will do anything to get it.

It would seem that the smallest minds learn the biggest truths and then, in some cases, lack the capacity to balance them with other important concerns or any critical thinking. This points the blame right back at society and its leaders.

To say that violent crimes against the homeless are encouraged by laws that criminalize homelessness implies that the perpetrators of such crimes know these laws, assessed their implications and determined that the disregard for homeless people which has been codified into law gives them license to hurt or kill them.

It’s hard for me to imagine them taking the time to learn such laws and even harder to imagine a group which is not known for its consideration of consequences even caring whether or not their actions are legal or supported by law in any way.

It’s true that when the perps are caught, they are prosecuted. However, it’s not hard for a cynic (which I don’t claim to be) to make the case that, on some level, public officials are indifferent to violence against the homeless.

After all, it rids society of homeless people who are dependent on social services and gives police a reason to lock up the killers so that they don’t hurt the productive members of society. Politically speaking, it’s a win-win situation.

That said, my statement that “our society has learned to hate the homeless” was in response to much more than just violent crime.

We know with certainty that hospitals have dumped many homeless patients on the streets.

And let’s not forget about the NIMBY-ism that manifests itself every time that even the best homeless services program (or housing for the homeless) is located in their neighborhood.

The homeless are an easy group to hate. They are seen by public officials and the general public as being lazy and shiftless. Many of them use up more tax revenues than they contribute.

The homeless are seen as “getting in the way of business.” They are often mentally ill. Those who are not often lack the drive or ability to stand up against public policies and attitudes that adversely affect them. Boy, do I know that!

All of this enables the people and policies to take various actions (legal and illegal) against the homeless virtually unopposed.

It also makes the few prosecutions of teens who hurt or kill the homeless look like nothing more than a token effort which policymakers can point to when accused of ignoring the homeless.

Let’s hold them to a higher standard by demanding real solutions. After all, we all want to get rid of the homeless. The most practical way would be by reversing the societal conditions and social ills that create them.

Blog In Brief

Hi! I'm Kathryn Baer. This blog is one way I use my skills and experience to support policies that will reduce the hardships poor people suffer and the causes of poverty. You can find out more about me here .